Stents have been used to establish and/or maintain open pathways through body lumens, such as the trachea, arteries, blood vessels, as well as urinary, biliary, esophageal or renal tracts, etc. For example, a ureteral stent may be placed in the ureter to maintain an open pathway for fluid between the kidney and the bladder.
In some instances, a guidewire may be advanced through the body lumen, such as the ureter of a patient, and then a stent delivery device, having a stent mounted thereon may be advanced over the guidewire to the desired location within the body lumen. The stent may then be deployed from the stent delivery device, and the stent delivery device may be withdrawn from the body lumen, leaving the stent positioned in the body lumen.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide alternative stent delivery devices which enable the user to steer, rotate, push, pull or otherwise manipulate a stent, such as a ureteral stent, during the placement process to ensure proper positioning. Additionally or alternatively, it may also be desirable to provide alternative deployment mechanisms which may include locking mechanisms to prevent premature deployment of the stent.